As Trade Rumors Swirl, So Do Trevor Bauer’s Emotions

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There have been rumblings of a possible trade, involving Trevor Bauer, as the July 31^st deadline approaches. Fans have debated the pros and cons of keeping him. However, his meltdown when he was taken out of the game against the Royals, became instant chatter all through the league. Bauer was charged with a season-high-tying eight runs (seven earned) and nine hits over 4 1/3 innings. He had just given up a go-ahead, 2-run single and the skipper decided Bauer’s time on the mound was finished. As Francona walked onto the field, the often-intense pitcher, fired the ball over the 410-foot center field wall. Tito was visibly angry and had a few choice words for Bauer.

Trevor has often been described as “not a team player” “arrogant” “disliked in the clubhouse” and Indians fans don’t seem to mind as long as he pitches well. The look on several of his teammates’ faces, when he launched that ball, makes one question if those are in fact fair descriptions.  Trevor did apologize during a post-game interview … “First and foremost, I owe a sincere apology to all my teammates, my coaching staff, the organization, and all of our fans for how I conducted myself today,” Bauer said. “It was unbecoming, it was childish, it was unprofessional. There is no place for it in the game. I’m happy it didn’t result in physical injury to anyone else. My frustrations were with myself and my inability to stop the situation and keep the team in the game.”  When asked about the situation Francona went on to say “That’s just between us. We certainly discussed it, as we should. He talked to the team. Today was a frustrating day. He did it out of frustration. I don’t want to say anything I don’t mean out of frustration.”

At the beginning of the season Bauer was pitching like an ace in Cleveland. He got off to a scorching 4-1 start with a 2.45 ERA through April. While injuries plagued the rotation, the Indians desperately needed him to have dominant outings. He has struggled mainly with keeping batters from knocking the ball out of the park. The fact that he’s given up over 20 long balls certainly frustrates Bauer. He’s meticulous in his work and some would argue no one is harder on Trevor than himself. He’s known to endlessly analyze his data to work on perfecting his craft.
Stepping away from his tantrum, there’s a lot to consider as July 31^st is just days away.  Realistically what could the Indians expect to get in a trade for Bauer? The screams of Tribe fans wanting a power hitter are deafening. However, can the organization get more than prospects or an aging slugger with an expiring contract for Bauer? He has the physical ability to be an amazing pitcher, but does he have the mental strength to match? He doesn’t have to be Mr. Rogers, but he also cannot be in his own head so much that it affects his game. He has been very vocal about only signing one-year contracts. That could very well make him an unattractive prospect to other teams. His ball tossing hissy fit will more than likely not scare off any teams already interested but could it have sealed his fate with the Tribe? The Indians are in the midst of a pennant race. They need to get a good haul now or hold off and trade him in the off season.  We’ll all know shortly if the last ball Bauer threw in a Tribe uniform was a juiced shot to center in Kansas City.

Trevor Bauer spins and fires the ball over the center field wall from the mound before being pulled, immediately apologizes to Terry Francona pic.twitter.com/H3TTVTZ9gz

— Paid man gets bored (@cjzero) July 28, 2019